District Presidents

by Paul Zabel
In one of the spare bedrooms of my parents’ home hangs a very beautiful and thought-provoking picture: an image of a guardian angel walking beside and hovering over a little boy and girl as they are crossing a footbridge over a ravine. The angel has his hand extended to give the boy and girl special care, for on the wooden footbridge there is a slat in the bridge missing both behind them and just ahead of where they are to step next.
What a fine reminder for our life …

by Thomas Prachar
One of my earliest memories from childhood is being tucked in my bed with my mother sitting next to me reading a Bible story before I went off to sleep. I know that those stories made an impression on me. I distinctly remember that when my brother was born, I wanted to name him “Moses.” (For some strange reason, my parents chose “Bob” instead!)
From that time, I have always had a love for reading the Bible. In my pre-seminary days, I was thrilled to learn to read the …

by Glenn E. Schaeffer
How’s it going with your New Year’s resolutions? Are you still on that diet? Are you faithfully going to the gym? Are you spending more time with family and less time at work? Are you getting your spending habits under control? Are you reading your Bible daily? Attending worship more often? Gossiping less? Acting more charitable to others? And, those of you, who resolved to make no resolutions, how’s that going for you? If you are like most people, you make resolutions weekly, if not daily.
Resolutions are …

by Thomas Prachar
In Charles Dickens’ short story, “A Christmas Carol,” the words of Ebenezer Scrooge are as true today as when Dickens first put them in his mouth: “I live in a world of fools…. Merry Christmas after Merry Christmas…. What is Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money, a time for finding yourself a year older and not an hour richer? If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled with his own …

by Glenn E. Schaeffer
When I was pastor at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Barrie, Ontario, the children and youth, with the assistance of some adults, presented a Christmas pageant entitled, “This is So Embarrassing!”
The pageant starts with a youth complaining about having to dress in his father’s bathrobe. Another youth grumbles about having to be a Wiseman yet again. Others find it embarrassing that they have to dress in silly costumes—halos, wings, and fuzzy caps with sheep ears. After lamenting their situation, the youthful pageant participants shout, “This …

by Paul Zabel
I was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. During my “formative years” my family attended and were members of Holy Cross Lutheran Church located at Grand River and Whitcomb on what is known as the West side of Detroit. I and my three sisters attended elementary school at Holy Cross as well. Every Christmas Eve, all the children in the school took part in the Worship Service or Pageant which consisted of “living scenes” from the Bible, chronicling some of the major prophecies pointing to our Messiah’s …